Baseball Hall of Fame: Adrián Beltré's plaque to feature Rangers cap; Jim Leyland opts for no logo
The Baseball Hall of Fame announced Friday the cap choices for each member of its 2024 class, which was elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America in January.
Adrián Beltré's plaque will feature him wearing a Texas Rangers cap, as he spent his final eight MLB seasons with the team. Jim Leyland, who was elected by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee for Managers, Umpires and Executives, will not have a logo featured on his plaque.
“I am grateful for the time I spent with all of my teams during my career,” Beltré said in a statement. “Looking back, I played more years in Texas than anywhere else, and I believe my time with the Rangers represents the peak of my career, individually and from a team standpoint. But I could not have made this journey to Cooperstown without the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, and their fans, and I am proud that each of the teams I played with will be listed on my Hall of Fame plaque."
“I will always appreciate the teams that gave me the opportunity to be their major league manager,” Leyland said in a statement explaining his choice. “We had some great moments with every one of those ballclubs, and I’m proud that they all will be mentioned on my Hall of Fame plaque. I want to make sure I show each of those teams respect, and this does that.”
The easy decisions were for the final two members of the 2024 class. Todd Helton and Joe Mauer spent their entire careers with the Colorado Rockies and Minnesota Twins, respectively, and will have the logos of their teams featured on their plaques.
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The Rangers were one of four teams Beltré played with during his 21-season career. He spent the most time in Texas, where he earned three All-Star selections and three Gold Glove Awards and made his only World Series appearance.
Leyland managed the Pittsburgh Pirates, Florida Marlins, Rockies and Detroit Tigers over 22 seasons in the league, winning three Manager of the Year awards and the 1997 World Series with the Marlins. He is one of 11 MLB managers to take three different franchises to the playoffs and is the seventh manager in league history to win pennants in both the AL and NL.
The four inductees will not see their individual plaques until just before they deliver their Hall of Fame speeches. The 2024 Baseball Hall of Fame inductions will take place July 21 in Cooperstown, New York.
